TWEET

Does Anyone Remember Donald Trump’s OTA?

Bruce Parkinson, Open Jaw

19.09.18

It sounds like a campaign promotion website. But as Australian travel trade website eGlobal Travel Media reminds us, GoTrump.com was once an online travel agency where hotels would pay commission not to the likes of Trivago and Booking.com, but to Donald Trump himself.

GoTrump.com entered the U.S. travel industry scene in 2006. The site’s tagline was “The art of the travel deal,” a reference to Trump’s autobiography, The Art of the Deal. The logo carried the message: “Travel Trump style.”

Announcing the creation of GoTrump.com at Trump Tower in New York City on 24JAN 2006, Trump stated at the opening press conference: “I will find you the great travel deals, whether you are looking to book a luxury getaway or just want the best rate on airlines and hotels worldwide.”

The glamorous Natalie Glebova, Russian-Canadian TV host, author, dancer, model, and beauty queen, was on stage at the launch. The year before, she won the Miss Universe Canada 2005 and later that year won Miss Universe 2005 in Thailand.

According to Wikipedia, the GoTrump.com site featured 60,000 hotels, including “Trump’s picks,” which were marketed as Donald Trump’s favourite hotels and resorts.

Travelocity technology powered the site and Trump proclaimed GoTrump.com would be a “tremendous success” -- of course he did. Alas, like so many companies Trump has founded, it lasted just a year.

Even though Trump promoted the website on his daily radio program “Trumped!” and expected to have the site featured in the sixth season of The Apprentice, GoTrump.com closed in 2007 and is now gone forever.

Today, if you type GoTrump.com into a browser address bar, it says: ‘403 Error. Forbidden.’

Bruce Parkinson Editor-in-Chief

An observer and analyst of the Canadian and international travel industries for over 25 years, Bruce uses the pre-dawn hours to prepare a daily news and information package to keep industry members up to date.

Leave a Comment...

Error:

Thanks for commenting. Your comment is awaiting moderation. Once it is approved, it will appear on the site.